Murky water put the kibosh on collecting paua and kina from my secret spot so my last day of food gathering came down to a sack of mussels from Wai Iti.

I had saved the shellfish collection for the eleventh day of 12 living off the land so they would be fresh for the fritters they will become at the barbecue finale tonight.

Collecting mussels and cooking them over a fire on the beach was something I did regularly growing up in Oakura, but since the farmed ones came along it's been easier to nip down the shop and get a bag for just a few bucks.

This is a shame because once you've let them spit their sand wild mussels are softer and sweeter than farmed ones, albeit significantly smaller.

Following the mussels I made the all important trip to Mike's brewery near Urenui for some local beer to go with the local food I had gathered over the past 11 days.

For the greens I've raided some of Taranaki's finest gardens for beans, capsicums, tomatoes, lettuce and avocados. Hopefully, before the day is out I will find some Taranaki grown potatoes to boil up with a sprig of mint currently growing in my chicken run.

My two gormless hens Dorothy and Whitey are also contributing. At least two of their eggs will go into a mayonnaise and more will be used to make some custard to accompany the blackberries I picked at Alistair McColl's Ahititi farm on Wednesday.